n.
Pronunciation: ' ma-n ə
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek, from Hebrew m ā n
Date: before 12th century
1 a : food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness b : divinely supplied spiritual nourishment c : a usually sudden and unexpected source of gratification, pleasure, or gain
2 a : the sweetish dried exudate of a Eurasian ash (esp. Fraxinus ornus ) that contains mannitol and has been used as a laxative and demulcent b : a similar product excreted by a scale insect ( Trabutina mannipara ) feeding on the tamarisk